Stochastic cargo transport by molecular motors in molecular communication

Abstract

This paper investigates, through computer simulations, statistical behavior of molecular motors transporting cargos on a network of protein filaments in an engineered environment. This paper also examines how molecular motors' statistical behavior is applied to building. a molecular communication system. A molecular motor, such as kinesin, is a protein complex. It exists in eukaryotic cells and functions as a nano-scale autonomous nanomachine that carries nano-scale to micro-scale signaling molecules on a network of protein filaments (i.e., cytoskeletal network) in eukaryotic cells. At an intersection of protein filaments on a cytoskeletal network, a molecular motor shows stochastic movement and may stay on the current protein filament or may switch onto an intersecting protein filament, resulting in stochastic delivery of signaling molecules from the nucleus to organelles over a cytoskeletal network. Molecular communication is an engineered system to transmit information by modulating information on molecules and by transporting modulated molecules from senders to receivers. One of promising approaches to building a molecular communication system is to use molecular motors to transport information-modulated molecules on an engineered protein filament network connecting senders and receivers. In order to examine the feasibility of this approach, this paper simulated statistical behavior of molecular motors carrying cargo molecules through multiple protein filament intersections on a protein filament network. Simulations model stochastic movement of a molecular motor at a single intersection of protein filaments using the measurement data obtained through in vitro experiments (using kinesins and microtubules) conducted by the authors of this paper and evaluates the stochastic delivery of molecules from the senders to the receivers over multiple intersections of protein filaments arranged in an array topology. Simulation results show that molecular motors stochastically deliver cargo molecules to a specific receiver (or to a specific set of receivers) with a given probability over an array of protein filament intersections.